Decorative bows are typically constructed manually by an operator using various methods of looping, gathering and cinching a length or lengths of ribbon material. Manual construction of decorative bows is a tedious and time-consuming process, particularly in the construction of large quantities of bows, or bows which are either very large or very small, or which have numerous loops of varying size, or which include several different types of ribbon materials. Further, bows which are made by hand are likely to be nonuniform in appearance, flexibility and stability due to variations from bow to bow in such factors as ribbon length, loop size and tension, skill of the operator, operator fatigue, and the like.
Devices for assisting in decorative bow making are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,542,222 to Welch discloses a device for tying bows which includes a pair of adjustable arms around which ribbon loops may be formed and a center pin which pierces and secures each ribbon loop as it is formed and removed from the arms so that the entire collection of loops may then be secured with a separate tying ribbon. U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,968 to St. Lawrence discloses an apparatus for winding filaments which includes lockable, sliding plates containing upright spindles around which ribbon or other material may be passed, the size of the resulting bow being determined by the distance between the sliding plates when in locked position.
None of the prior art devices is adjustable in both shape and size for making a wide variety of bow shapes and sizes using a single device.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to obviate the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is another object of this invention to provide a device for making decorative bows which can be adjusted with respect to both shape and size to permit an operator to construct bows of various shapes, loop sizes and complexity with speed, ease and efficiency.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method of making decorative bows using the device of the invention.